Collecting the Pieces
by AgentDolly
Summary: AU: Amy Rose, the typical heroine. A torn up past, heart break, and shattered friendships. Amy's just starting to reconcile with long lost friends, but apparently that isn't enough drama. A new danger is arising, from a terrible accident years ago. The Midnight Realm is in danger, but not as much as a certain Rose. SonAmy, slight ShadAmy
1. Chapter 1

**Begging for the Job**

**Hello and welcome to my fanfiction. My name is MeadowHasCome, and I share an account with AgentDolly. The thing is, I'm working on another story at the moment, so updating might be infrequent. Thanks for taking your time to read this.**

Her jade eyes glared at me in annoyance, her bottom lip poked out in frustration. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me, and her arms crossed in intimidation. She wielded no hammer at the moment, which I thanked the heavens for.

"So," she finally said, after the agonizing moments of waiting, "You're saying that I'm not old enough?"

I let out a sigh of exasperation, slamming my hand against my forehead. Was it too much to ask for the pink hedgehog to stay silent? Apparently so, as she kept the same stance, looking at me for an explanation.

"G.U.N. has strict age codes," I said carefully, massaging my temple, hoping that it would eventually get into her head. She cocked her head to the side, a strand of hair falling in front of her right eye.

"But I don't have anywhere else to go. I'll do anything," she begged, her whole composition changing. She let go of her crossed arms, pulled in her bottom lip, and eyes softened.

I looked at her, terribly annoyed with her persistence. I understood now why Sonic was annoyed terribly by her presence at moments, she was far too stubborn. Although, in truth, she was right. With no more family, and too old for the local orphanage, Amy Rose had no place to go. She was only 17, and you had to be 18 to live on your own-according to the Mobian law. I myself was 19, and doing perfectly well coping on my own. I had acquired a job at G.U.N., working along my only friends. I was comfortable where I was, but now this pink hedgehog was persisting to join and ruin the perfection of my world.

"Please?" She made her final plea, eyes widening and tears brimming. I felt a slight pang of sympathy for the hedgehog. She didn't have the money to go to high school, as her parents were poor. The high school required funding for text books or the student in question could not enroll. The only thing Amy had left was a battered old house, worn down and fragile. That itself had mortgage that Amy was scraping to pay. I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"I'll see what I can do," I finally said, crossing my own arms and glaring at the female in front of me. Her eyes lit up in joy and looked at me gratefully. The teenager opened her lips to utter something, but I motioned for her to stay quiet. "But I can't make any promises. Until then, I'm sure that Rouge will let you accommodate a portion of her quarters."

Her face immediately fell, and I raised an eye ridge to question the motive. She let a tiny sigh escape before responding. "Rouge and I never really got along. Besides, why do I have to stay?"

I glared at her as I spoke, "You must adjust to the conditions. You must stay because the General could have a time slot open for us to speak to him at any time possible. You are lucky that I am helping you to this extent. Rouge's quarters are 147B on the 5th floor. I will inform her of your presence as you travel there."

I wasn't requesting her to do anything, and she knew that. I was stating, and Amy was to do what I told her to do. Meekly nodding her head, the female headed down the metallic hallway, a dejected expression and air surrounding her.

With a sigh, I brought my hand to my forehead, wondering how I had just talked myself into this predicament. I was well aware the General disliked me, for he found me all too secretive and solitary. He stated that G.U.N. was mainly about working with your team, and adapting to the conditions-as I had just told Amy.

In truth, us agents were not allowed to authorize any accommodations or visits, but I had scheduled a meeting with the General a few weeks ago, to discuss a very important matter concerning the safety of the citizens. Now that would have to be put aside, just for the concerns of a feminine hedgehog. I wasn't quite sure what was happening to me, but Amy had always been like a sister to me, even from our elementary years.

I smiled as I walked back to my quarters, recalling my elementary years. I had joined a group that called themselves "The Sonic Team." And no doubt, there leader's name was in fact Sonic the Hedgehog. In my point of view, Faker. He was a blue hedgehog, and claimed himself to be the fastest thing alive. His cocky, brash attitude annoyed me a great deal and I sincerely hoped that one day he would be running so fast that he didn't notice a car speeding down a street. Alright, maybe I didn't loathe him all that much, but he was still quite annoying.

With long strides, I made it to room 109A on the 4th floor in no time. I wasn't allowed to run in G.U.N., for it was hard to "keep track of me" according to the General. I was pretty sure he was just afraid that my specially-designed hover shoes would damage the flooring. I couldn't blame him, the G.U.N. flooring had gun through many…damages…after Omega had joined. Even the slightest amount of heat nowadays made it collapse, and that was dangerous to employees and agents operating in the lower levels.

Next to the door of my quarters was a green screen, with a keypad underneath. I easily keyed in the word MARIA and tapped my foot, impatiently waiting for the doors to reveal my room. I walked in casually when they did, and they closed with a loud bang after I did so.

I knew for a fact that Amy had not made it into Rouge's room yet, for Amy had no idea where the stairs were. I had carefully made sure that I had not revealed any directions in my motions or words. It was the first test of a rookie wanting to apply-navigate your way through the maze-like halls of G.U.N. That was my test as well, and I had not met an easier one in my time as an agent. It was easy for me to navigate through the familiar halls that Maria had led me through 9 years ago.

I sighed as I thought of Maria, and immediately averted my attention to communicating with Rouge. I grabbed a "walkie-talkie"-as Rouge insisted to call it-from my hard nightstand, and pressed a circular button. I didn't bother to use formal language, as I was simply informing Rouge of the Amy news. I didn't even bother with a greeting, as Rouge and I were the only ones with the walkie-talkies.

"Hello?" a flirtatious voice asked on the other side.

"Amy Rose is coming to your quarters."

"Why?! She's annoy-"

"She needs to apply for a job at G.U.N. because she needs money. I have a meeting with the General soon, but I told her that it could come up at any time. I expect you to be polite with her, and treat her as you would treat me."

"Only a few hours?"

"Up to a day," Before I could hear her protests, I ended the transmission and tossed the rectangular object back on my nightstand. It was one of the few pieces of furniture in here. We were allowed to furbish our rooms to our liking, but I was often out of my quarters and doing missions or with Rouge and Omega. I had a bed, desk, lamp, and nightstand. The desk held most of the items, which also involved a large stack of file folders from all the mission I had taken care of through my 2 years of service.

With a heavy sigh, I lay down on my bed. I didn't rest often, but I had done a particularly hard mission today, and I had had to induce Chaos Blast, which used a lot of my energy. Setting a chaos emerald on the night stand I closed my eyes, and slowly drifted off into a beckoning sleep. Of course, you must first know my name.

Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form.


	2. Chapter 2

**Waiting and Acquaintances**

**Christian Wolf99: No major roles. Just appearances, no naming or anything. I'm guessing you want Spencer in here.**

**Continue my dear readers; author's note is at the bottom.**

* * *

_(Normal POV)_

Rouge glared at her bejeweled walkie-talkie before setting it back down on her desk. Pretty much everything in her room had jewels stuck on to it, or on top of it. Except for the desk and bed, instead they had a jewel print adorning them. Crossing on leg over the other, the double agent tapped her fingers impatiently on her desk. The sooner Amy got here, the sooner she could set down the rules and meet Topaz. It wasn't that Rouge didn't trust Amy; it was the fact that they didn't have much interaction. Rouge hadn't even gone shopping with Amy, which was actually a stunning surprise considering her fashionista side that took over sometimes.

A few seconds after the cue in Rouge's head, there was a gentle knocking on the door of the room. Rouge slowly uncrossed her legs, and flew over to the door. Peeking through the hole, Rouge spotted a mop of pink quills that were haphazardly done. Clicking her tongue in disapproval, she undid the lock and stepped to the side to let Amy in.

"Hello, Amy Rose," Rouge said calmly, losing the flirtatious tone. Okay, maybe it was still there, but it wasn't coming so strong. It was a subtle tone, only appearing out of habit. Amy nodded back to Rouge, and awkwardly stood in the middle of the room. With yet another click of disapproval upon looking at the high ponytail with quills sticking out everywhere, Rouge pointed to a dark magenta chair by the window. Taking the hint, Amy sat down, still looking at her temporary room-mate.

"When I say hello, you say hello back, pinkie."

"I'm sorry, I'm just really tired," Amy said, bringing a hand to her forehead and massaging her temples. Rouge looked at Amy for another moment, noticing the slight bags under her eyes, and the disappearance of the zest of life from her whole composition.

"Sweetie, we have got to fix you up," Rouge said, placing her hands on her hips. Amy gave her a bewildered look, not exactly in the mood for a make-over. Shaking her head wildly, Amy pushed the chair back, making a horrible grating noise against the wooden floor. Rouge winced, but nonetheless, strode over to the female hedgehog, grabbed her by the arm, and seated Amy in front of her vanity. Amy attempted to get up, like any sane person, but Rouge firmly pressed a hand on her shoulders, forcing her to stay down.

"Rouge, I don't want a ma-"

"If you're going to meet the Commando, you've got to look professional," Rouge said, opening a drawer and pulling out a tube of lipstick, mascara, and several other make-up items. Amy sighed, and propped her head up with her hand, knowing that there was no way out of the predicament that had come to her. "Make-over time!"

30 minutes later, Rouge gazed proudly at her new doll, who was all dressed up. Amy was wearing a red dress that ended mid-thigh, a pair of black tights, and dark red flats. Her make-up was done subtly, but enough to bring her eyes back to life and cause the bags under her eyes to "disappear."

"There, you look gorgeous-" Rouge said, smiling in approval.

"Thanks," Amy said, looking at herself in the mirror; not realizing she was interrupting Rouge.

"All thanks to me!" Rouge said, suddenly twirling Amy around and giving her a friendly hug. Amy gladly hugged back, rejoicing over the fact that she and Rouge were getting along. It had seemed like today would never come, due to their minor interaction, but it had.

Pulling away, the girls continued to smile at each other for quite some more time, before there was a crackling noise. Amy shot Rouge a confused look, who simply walked over to her white desk and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Mm hm…sure, hon. Yeah, she's all set. No….I haven't prepped her on what to say…she'll be fine…pardon? No, I really mean it. Sure. I'll send her over. Tomorrow morning?! Alright, alright, but I'm not going to tell Omega. See ya, Shadster."

Amy looked at Rouge, trying to analyze the conversation. She assumed Rouge and Shadow were talking about her, considering the third sentence. The 17 year old girl watched as Rouge clicked a spherical button, ending the talk. Motioning towards the pink hedgehog, Rouge opened the door, as she had forgotten to lock it. Another thing that Rouge had forgotten stuck her, and proceeded to mentally slap herself, but used no body language to show that she had forgotten about hanging out with Topaz.

Trying to convince herself the Topaz would be perfectly fine staring at a jewel display by herself, Rouge walked down the hallway, heels clacking against the metal flooring. Amy followed closely, as there was nothing for her to examine. She was enclosed by metal walls, a metal floor, and a metal ceiling. There were no portraits to examine, nothing. At least that's what she assumed.

_**STATE YOUR PURPOSE.**_

Amy must have jumped several feet in the air when she heard the voice boom through the corridor. Rouge, however, stayed perfectly calm and continued walking. The terrified hedgehog followed cautiously after Rouge, quite unsure of what else to do.

_**STATE YOUR PURPOSE.**_

There it was again. However, Amy didn't jump this time, and continued walking behind Rouge. Although, you could see that her pace noticeably quickened. Almost tripping over her own feet, Amy hurried to walk beside Rouge.

"Why aren't you answering it?"

"Pardon?" Amy asked, bewildered at Rouge's query. The questioner rolled her eyes and pointed to something at the very end of the corridor. A security camera. Amy would have missed the small object had the bright red light not been there.

"I have to talk?"

"No, duh."

"Um…what do I say?"

"Just say you're with me."

"Why can't you say anything?"

"Fine. Rouge the Bat, G.U.N. Double agent and spy. Taking Amy Rose the Hedgehog to Shadow the Hedgehog, G.U.N. Agent for initiation meeting."

_**Accepted. You may proceed.**_

There was a bright flash of light, and Amy glimpsed several red lasers, right before they disappeared. Staring at them in awe, she didn't notice the ebony figure at the end of the corridor. Causing her to walk smack into him.

"Watch it, Rose."

"Sorry, Shadow," Amy stuttered, accepting the gloved hand to help her up. Shadow and Amy stared at each other a moment, before Amy nervously looked away, unable to meet the ruby eyes.

"I'll leave you two to the General," Rouge said with a nod towards her partner, and a good luck wink towards Amy. A wave of the hand later, she was flying down the hallway back to her room. Amy looked at Rouge disappearing, and suddenly longed for her to come back. She couldn't do this without the aid of a friend. She and Shadow were friends, but she needed someone who completely understood her predicament. As far as she was concerned, Shadow was not the understanding type. Far from it in her point of view, and she wasn't prepare to tell him about her personal problems. To the fact, Amy hadn't informed Cream of the predicament she had recently got jammed in. What is it? That's for Amy to know and for us to find out.

Absentmindedly following after Shadow in to the meeting room, Amy yet again nearly slammed into something. This time it was the door, which she avoided by mere centimeters. Blushing in embarrassment, she gazed around the room. Shadow was sitting on a chair on a side of an oaken desk. On the other side was the General, who was looking at Amy with scrutinizing eyes. With a slight gulp, Amy took a seat in the chair next to Shadow's, but not before taking in the map and the push pins on it.

"Your name?" the General said, although he already knew the answer. He was a bit disgruntled that Shadow had let Amy try to get in G.U.N. without a resume, but he had pulled it up on his computer the second Shadow had informed him. It wasn't a good one, and the General had almost confirmed his verdict before Amy had even arrived.

"Amy Rose."

"Occupation you were fired from?"

Amy winced at his cold tone before responding nervously, "I didn't have any, sir. I was a student."

"You are 17, correct?"

"Yes."

"You know of the age limits?"

"Yes."

"Now state your argument."

Amy gave Shadow a hopeless glance, obviously asking for help. She had no idea what argument the General was referring to. However, the agent remained silent, staring at the General with a furious glare.

"Hurry up! I haven't got all day! Why do you want to come to G.U.N.?" The General suddenly barked, slamming his fist on the desk, causing several pencils to fall off the wooden item. Amy shivered at his coldness, and was at a loss of words.

"May I intervene?"

It was not much of a question, and Shadow spoke it as though it was a statement. Knowing that the Ultimate Life Form would speak anyway, the General gave him a curt nod.

"Amy Rose. 17 years old. Supposed to be in 12th grade. Unable to pay fees. Needs job. Field work done before. High intellect. Capable in battle. Wields weapon. Worth opponent. Takes up little space. Good agility. Good speed. Fantastic power. Stats are good."

With that, Shadow leaned back on his chair, lifting the front two feet off the floor. Amy's aura shined of hopefulness now, and she looked eagerly at the General. However, the shine dimmed as she noticed the General's solemn expression.

"That's not enough, Shadow. I know this is coming from you, but G.U.N. isn't a haven for people who need jobs," he said, shaking his head.

Amy bent her head down, ashamed that she had ever thought that she could get a job. It had been her dream to fight crime. She had wanted to do it alongside her friends, so she wanted to kill three birds with one stone. But now it appeared that her dream was slipping out of her reach, flying away from the net attempting to collect it.

"But…"

Amy's head shot up, staring at the General with those dazzling jade eyes. Shadow continued to lean back lazily, staring out the lone window in the bleak room. The General sighed and scratched his head before continuing his statement."

"This _is _coming from you, Shadow. I can't forget that. I have informed you of the mission that commences tomorrow morning. I know that you have spread the word to Rouge, who should have informed Omega by know. Ms. Rose will accompany you on this mission. I will have our technicians enable Omega with a camera so that I may observe Ms. Rose's actions on the battle field when you return. Until then, Ms. Rose is dismissed."

He changed the direction of his head, now fully talking towards Amy.

"You may return to your home. You must report to G.U.N. at 0400 hours. Do you understand that?"

Amy nodded gratefully, the truth of the matter settling underneath her skin. She was being given a chance to prove herself as a true G.U.N. agent. Well, she was going to make the most of this. Being given such an opportunity was rare for the young woman, and she was prepared to use it to enhance her chance of being accepted in to her dream occupation.

With a hard grating sound, Amy pushed her chair back and stood up, shortly afterwards, Shadow did the same. To her surprise, he also gave the General a salute, before walking out of the room. Confused, she followed after her silent teammate.

Behind the closed door, the General covered his face with his hands, softly mumbling something incoherent to the regular ear. He gave the door a pitiful look, as though he could see through it, all the way to the pink hedgehog walking away from the metal object.

"Poor Rose…"

* * *

Amy Rose stepped out of G.U.N., with a refreshed mind. Rouge had let her keep the outfit, insisting that she had all too many dresses. She had gladly accepted the gesture, glad that she wouldn't have to buy any clothing to wear to semi-formal occasions, which were being dotted all over the place like sprinkles on a cupcake.

She started walking down the sidewalk parallel to the busy street, bustling with cars, buses, and taxis hurrying to get their occupiers to the needed destination. Mobotropolis was heavily polluted, and the main cause of it was the transportation. The school's used skylights, many buildings used solar energy, and they also used hydroelectric power; but that didn't stop the fossil fuels from being burned regularly. Amy was sure by the time the fuels ran out, the Ozone layer would be depleted to half its size.

With a cheery composition, Amy turned left on an intersection, and spotted the local cupcake shop. Deciding that she was a tad hungry, she pushed open the door, causing a soft jingle to ensue, acknowledging her presence.

"Amy!"

Amy smiled at the sweet voice coming from the counter, and the face of the owner poked up over the counter, covered in chocolate. It was a dark magenta hedgehog, with lighter pink hair. Her blue eyes glowed in joy at seeing her favorite teenage girl Mobian. She had a playful smile covering her muzzle, barely noticeable because of the chocolate lathered across, obviously the remnants of a sticky chocolate cupcake held in her right hand.

"Hey, Sonia!" Amy said, walking over and grabbing a napkin from the stand, and wiping away the mess. Sonia giggled as Amy chucked it perfectly into the trash bin. "Is Sonic here?"

"He went to meet Tails for something," Sonia giggled, climbing up onto the counter, and giving Amy a huge hug. Amy gladly returned it, smiling at the little hedgehog.

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to tell him the good news," Amy said wistfully. Her eyes drifted over to the display of red velvet cupcakes, decorated perfectly with pink heart sprinkles for Valentine's day. Sonia took no notice however, as she pulled away from Amy. She picked up the cupcake again, and proceeded in eating it. Well, she was more smearing it, but she was still getting a few pieces in her mouth.

"Tell me, I'll tell him," Sonia mumbled her mouth full of frosting. Amy laughed at the antics of Sonia. The 6 year old in question shot her a confused look, before trying to toss the wrapper in the trash can like Amy. She made it in, and clapped her hands in glee.

"No thanks, sweetie. I'll tell him when I see him at the reunion with the gang tomorrow," Amy said politely, leaning back on the counter, "Until then, I'd better get baking for the reunion."

"What're you making?" Sonia cried, grabbing the sleeve of Amy's dress before she walked away. Amy couldn't help but laugh as she responded.

"You're brother's favorite. Chili dogs."

With that, Amy swung out of the shop, cheerfully heading down the sidewalk. However, inside the shop, Sonia looked back into the storage room, calling somebody out.

"She's gone, Sonic!"

"Thanks, sis," A figure said, creaking the door open a tad, making sure that Amy wasn't near the display window. Fortunately, she wasn't, and was well on her way down the block already.

"Why didn't you want to see her?" Sonia asked, sliding down off the counter. She waddled over to Sonic, and lifted her arms up. Sonic obligingly picked up his little sister.

"I dunno, Sonia. I don't feel so good around her anymore."

"Is it because you hurt her feelings?"

Sonic winced at the comment, but headed back into the kitchen, "I didn't hurt her feelings, Sonia. I told her that I couldn't help her, nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Sonic replied, exasperated. His little sister asked far too many questions, much of which annoyed him. The cobalt hedgehog set his sister down in front of the oven. Sonia immediately pressed her hands against the screen separating her from the delectable treats, and stared at the cake pop slowly backing.

"Yummy," she said, stepping away. Sonic rolled his eyes, noticing the fingerprints. Well, he wasn't going to take the blame when his mom saw them.

"You can say that again."

**Well, there you go! Thank you so much for the 6 reviews and 3 follows! They mean so much. :) Okay, so there WILL be fan characters in the story, but no name drops. Just small appearances. If you really want your OC in here, just drop a review on whether you like this story or not, and then tell me about your OC! That's all folks! ...Did I just make a reference to…never mind…**

**-MeadowHasCome**

**P.S. Well, I haven't really Come since I'm signing off…god, the origins of that penname is really weird.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Sorry, short chapter.**

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Shadow tapped his foot impatiently, rubbing his head in annoyance. He didn't expect Amy to be perfectly on time, knowing that 4:00 a.m. was a tall order, but 30 minutes late was far too much. He narrowed his eyes, peering through the soft light the rising sun was providing, hoping to catch a glimpse of the female hedgehog.

"Hey, Shadster!"

Shadow sighed for the millionth time in those two days. He didn't mind having one other person accompanying them, but for the Commander to send another hedgehog to assist Team Dark? Too much, much too much. Shadow was perfectly capable handling this mission by himself, and he found it lucky for the General that he was letting Rouge and Omega come along. But his rival?

Shadow turned around to face the smiling blue hedgehog, glaring at him fiercely. His ruby eyes hardened further, deprived of warmth. Sonic's smile faltered as his enemy displayed the coldness. Clearing his throat, Sonic spoke again.

"I was wondering when Amy was…"

"I don't know. Now be quiet," Shadow cut him off sharply, turning back to stare into the street occupying the few cars traversing in the morning light. Sonic crossed his arms, and turned to say something to Rouge. Shadow ignored the banter going back and forth between the two, and instead turned to witness a familiar hammer bobbing through the crowd of civilians hurrying to morning shifts in their jobs.

Shadow continued to observe Amy as she fought against the force of the crowd. She nearly lost her grip, but quickly regained it in a matter of seconds. Mentally, Shadow took down notes of her actions. Her footing was in wrong places, barely avoiding people's feet. He saw one man wince as Amy apologize profusely, before heading on. What was admirable was her persistence-something that Shadow had admired her for throughout all their years as friends. Amy never gave up on anything, never in her whole life.

Finally, gasping for breath, Amy arrived at Shadow's feet. Not literally, of course, but she did crumble to her knees the second that she got to the front of G.U.N.

"Ames! Are you okay?" Sonic asked, rushing to her side and helping her up. He motioned with his head for Rouge to pick up the hammer, which she did so, slightly dragging the object on the ground. Using Sonic for support, Amy attempted to gasp an answer. She held up her pointer finger, indicating that she needed a minute more to receive air into her lungs.

"I've never been out this early!" She finally exclaimed, still holding on to Sonic's arm, "When I'm out at 6, I'm on a bus. I've never fought through a crowd this thick."

"You had better get used to it," Sonic said, shaking his head. He refused to let go of Amy, and ignored Shadow's cold expression as he escorted her to their departure sight. "If you're going to get a job here, with no form of transportation, better practice walking through crowds."

Amy nodded her head meekly, and Shadow followed in disgust. He had told the General her stats were excellent, but she was weak after pushing through a mere crowd. It appeared to him that her hammer was her source of power, but a true agent must learn how to work without any weapons. With a grim frown, he caught Rouge's attention and beckoned for her to come closer to him.

"What?" She hissed quietly. Omega shifted his robotic head towards them, recording them instead of Amy through his video camera.

"Take away the weapon."

"What?! How will she fight?!"

"An agent must learn how to fight without a weapon."

With a shake of her head, Rouge tossed the hammer into the bushes unceremoniously. Amy was still walking feverishly with the help of Sonic, and didn't notice the action. Perhaps it would be something to regret, perhaps it would be something to be thankful for. That question would be answered in an hour, after their mission being cut short.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Amy helplessly looked at what the others were doing, examining their movements and attacks. She knew far too well she could not copy the intricate actions, and stared at her approaching opponent with fearful eyes. She had not planned her first mission to be like this. She had not planned to be hammer-less, and completely defenseless on the battlefield.

Amy was angry at Rouge, to say the very least, and shot angry looks at her know and then. The ivory bat was battling a robot of the same size and shape as all the other's opponents. She was battling three, in fact. Shadow six, Sonic six, and Omega eight. Amy had been given one to finish off, but she was struggling to regain her confidence.

Her hammer had been her ally throughout her whole life, and she had never done anything without it. She had not even known that she had been deprived of her comrade until she arrived on the battlefield. Amy had been purely shocked, and enraged. Rouge should have known that she did not know how to fight with her hands and feet. She had not practiced this art, and was completely confused on what to do in this predicament.

The feminine hedgehog noticed the side glance that Shadow gave her, and immediately turned to focus on her enemy. She clenched her fists, eyes trained on the bright eyes glowing from the robot. She saw Sonic spin into a ball out of the corner of her eyes, and attempted to do the same. It was a half-hearted attempt, but it had partially desirable effects. The robot stumbled back several feet, and a dent appeared upon it's chest, but no more damage was done.

Amy looked at her still-clenched fists and took a deep breath. Again, she peered at her allies fighting their own battles. They were all capably smashing their opponents. She noted Shadow taking down his second-to-last opponent with a chaos spear. One of his renowned attacks.

Amy slowly lifted up her fist, and anxiously looked at the robot approaching her. To her immense fear, it slowly lifted up it arm, revealing a laser cannon. Amy managed one gasp of shock before it blasted.

Her defense came out of nowhere. She barely had time to see the black and red ball of spikes hurtle into the beam, shooting it towards its attacker. The robot stood still, emotionless, and allowed itself to be incinerated.

"Good try, Rose."

Amy bent her head down. A good try from Shadow meant a lot, but it wasn't enough. It was a phrase of failure, and she didn't want failure. Amy looked up to Rouge mumbling into thin air. Then, she noticed the ear piece communicator she had on, and assumed she was talking with G.U.N. Rouge looked up after what seemed to be a heated argument, completed with rising voices. Taking a deep breath, she spoke the news that she had been dreading to say.

"Hey, Amy, Shadow. The General wants you back."

**xXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Amy stared at the General in disbelief. They hadn't even launched the mission fully and arrived at their site when Amy had been brought back to G.U.N. She had been unsure of why, but when she found out the reason, she was terribly startled.

"W-what?"

"I won't say it after this, Ms. Rose. You don't get the job," the General said with a sigh. It had been a tough decision on his part, and he hated to make it, but he knew it was in the best interest of the girl. This particular girl's eyes were widened in fear, body rigid, and hands clasped together in nervousness.

"You can't be serious," she whispered. No matter how much Amy tried to convince herself, the sympathetic expression of the General said it all. She brought her hands to her mouth, and her eyes widened even more. A tear slowly trickled down the fragile face, and Amy bit her lip, holding in the bawling that was sure to take place sooner or later.

"It's in your best interest, I'm sorry." With that, the General motioned for Shadow to escort Amy out of the room. Doing so, the faithful agent took Amy by her arm, and softly ushered her out of the room, and out of G.U.N.

Amy looked at Shadow for an answer, an explanation, anything to comfort the darkness enveloping her. The hedgehog said nothing, his eyes trained on the street as they stood outside. Amy was not ready for a departure, yet she could not look back at the building that had been her last hope in this unforgiving world.

"Why?"

Shadow bent his head down, unable to answer the question. He knew the answer, but he couldn't bring himself to speak the wretched words. He hated himself for telling the General this. It had been indirectly, but he had not known that the camera footage was being streamed to the main computer directly. The simple actions and comments had sealed Amy's faith. Such immense regret had never piled up on the poor hedgehog.

"I'm sorry."

That was all he said, as he turned away, back into the cold building. The one that held emotions of hatred trapped inside it. The thing that held Shadow's present and future, the thing that had destroyed Amy's. Amy looked at the form stalking into G.U.N., peering at it for the last time in three years.

Then she turned to her left, and examined the figure, leaning against the tree, head bent down. The cobalt quills swayed slightly in the air, and a foot was pressed against the trunk against of the tree. The lime green eyes stared at a wildflower by the foot planted against the ground. Amy looked at Sonic for the last time in three years.

The last time in three years.

It might as well have been the last time for forever.

**Sorry about the short chapter! Updates will take longer since I will be typing on my iPad starting tomorrow. Thank you so much for the 5 reviews! I really hope you guys continue to review, because it keeps me motivated.**

**Christian Ape99: No.**


	4. I Can't Get Over The Past

**Chapter 4**

**Christian Ape99: Who's Wilson and Ruben? And you mean the Rotor from the Archie right?**

**So, I got a lap top! My brother let me create an account on ours, since I kept forgetting his password. Oopsie! I'll admit, I've never really written a chapter as Hurt/Comfort as this. Well, let's get this moving along.**

_**3 years later**_

_(Amy's POV)_

It took all my will-power not to slam my coffee mug down on the counter as I recalled the wretched memories. Not in anger, but out of despair. G.U.N. had been a dream, but it had been pulled away from me; without an explanation. I had not even been told why I had been exempted from the shining opportunity, with infuriated me slightly. Perhaps not slightly, perhaps majorly, but I had started to get over it. After all, it had been three years. I knew that if I didn't get over it, I had no chance of being given another job.

In truth, I had not gotten another job immediately. None of them wanted me. Well, except the low-paying jobs. But I knew for a fact that those wouldn't even give me enough money to buy food, never mind the mortgage. I had managed to stay at my home for a few more weeks, before being kicked out. Those days were spent worrying and fretting over how to pay the bills, and assume a job. My first priority after being kicked out was to find accommodations. I was truly lucky that my friends were so faithful. Blaze the Cat, one of my best friends, had let my stay at her house. She was a couple years older than me, and already had a stable job. What bewildered me was that she got one without going to college. Then again, I had to face that obstacle shortly after moving in.

So where did I get a job? The bakery, of course. I know, it's not a high-paying job, but it gave me enough money to pay half the rent for Blaze's house. I had accumulated enough money to attend classes now and then in the college nowadays. Today was one of the slow days, however, at the bakery. I had helped myself to a cup of coffee. Picking up the mug, I took another sip. Things had been bad in the past, yes, but they were much better now. Well...except that I hadn't seen Sonic or Shadow in three years. I knew I wouldn't forget them. I never would. Never in my whole life. Shadow because I still hung out with Rouge. Sonic because...

You can't forget the guy who broke your heart. The guy who tore you apart. The guy the found a knife, and dangled it threateningly near your heart. The guy you gave all your love to, but failed.

I softly pressed a hand against my cheek, still holding the cup of coffee. With a sigh, I drank the contents, and put the mug in the sink behind the counter. i could wash it later. I wasn't in too much of a mood. Not at the moment. Not when I was recalling the memory. The horrible memory, the dangerous knife that cut through my happiness. It had not been his fault. But it still happened, and I couldn't forget that.

He hurt me. Yes, emotionally. No, not physically in any way whatsoever. But it hurt. It cut my heart to chunks, and shredded those as well. It destroyed me inside and out. It had taken months to patch our friendship at the very least. Even now...I couldn't trust him with my feelings. I wanted to trust him. I _loved_ him with all of my broken heart. Unfortunately, my heart was acting like Humpty Dumpty. Except this time, all the king's horses and men didn't seem to want to put me back together again._  
_

_Flashback_

I remember it as though it was yesterday, even though it was really 5 years ago. When I was 15. It was Sonic's birthday, also known as my favorite day back then. I started calling it the worst day of my life from then on.

_I stopped for a breath, clutching my chest as I took in heaving breaths, trying to regain the air in my lungs. After staying bent down for awhile more, I looked up to witness Sonic dodge into a short-cut to his house. I narrowed my eyes, and started sprinting as fast as I could. All I wanted to do was wish him a happy birthday, and then get back home to do my home work. It was hard to do that when your crush is the Fastest Thing Alive._

_I looked around for a blue blur when I entered the street. I saw something cobalt flash by a fruit stand, and hurried after it. The key to catching Sonic was to wait until he stopped, thinking that he lost me. Then I could pounce, and happily hug him, and wish him a happy birthday! Then I could run away, and see his reaction. _

_I giggled to myself as I saw Sonic look around, and slowly pull to a stop and casually start walking home. He was oblivious to the fact that I was slowly creeping up behind him, in the deserted street. The person operating the moving fruit stand had trotted away. I was careful to conceal the sound of my foot steps as I sneaked up behind my hero._

_"SONIKKU!" I suddenly screamed, jumping on Sonic. I heard him let out a terrified scream, and try to pull me off of him. I remained in the hug from the back, strengthening my grip as he attempted to peel me off._

_"For the last time Amy, please stop following me!" He begged, successfully getting me off of him. I laughed, as usual. I thought that he was joking. Knuckles had told me that he liked me, and that was the reason he wanted me to stop following him. He couldn't bear to let his feelings accidentally slip! I had approved of the logic, and since then, had made more time for chasing my Sonikku in my schedule._

_"You're so funny, Sonikku!" I giggled, trying to give him a hug again. To my surprise, he caught my arms and shoved them back at my sides. I chuckled nervously, trying to figure out his actions. I watched as his expression became desperate, and a tad worried. However, I was too mesmerized by his green eyes, staring at me with a serious look. I couldn't help but think of how cute Sonic looked when he was trying to look serious. I was unaware that he actually **was **serious. _

_"Amy, I'm not joking...I know that you've been thinking that I am, by the way that you laugh," he said seriously, crossing his arms firmly. I cocked my head to the side, ignoring the hair falling in front of my eyes. As long as they didn't block my view of Sonic, I was perfectly fine. "But I'm not. Hold on...did you listen to Knuckles?"_

_I giggled again, however, this time I was slightly nervous. I had picked up the hidden message in his tone of voice. Knuckles had been lying. No, I told myself, joking. Knuckles wouldn't want to hurt me. He was like a brother to me, an overprotective brother. Knuckles cared about me a lot, and I knew he wouldn't hurt me._

_"W-Why?" I stuttered. _

_I knew that was the wrong thing to say when Sonic groaned and slapped himself in the face. I looked at him, worried, as he started pacing frantically. He ran his gloved hand through his quills. _

_"Amy, Knuckles was joking. I heard him. It was bet. He didn't expect you to believe him. The bet was that you wouldn't believe him (Knuckles' bet), and Shadow's bet was that you would believe him. I-I didn't know about it. Ames...I would've stopped them if I had known. But it was too late when I arrived at our weekly reunion at Rouge's house."  
_

_I was overwhelmed. To put it very slightly, that is. I was crushed. I thought that Sonic liked me! But here he was, denying me of the supposed "fact" that I had! _

_"Amy, I don't love you. I'm sorry. But you should have realized that by now."_

_That shocked me even more. Sonic sounded like he didn't even **care!** He was supposed to care! _

_"W-well, I don't love you Sonic! I don't need you!" I shouted, and before he could reply, I had turned on my heel and ran away. I knew that he was there, shouting my name, calling me back. But he wasn't chasing after me, that was enough to break to me again. I broke down a block away, hidden in the corner of an ally. I buried my head in my knees, hiding my face from view._

_"Amy Rose?"_

_I gasped inwardly as I saw a familiar figure at the front of the ally. His ruby eyes shone out in the darkness, making it easy for me to recognize him. I hid my face from view again as the Mobian walked over to my pitiful figure. I felt him shuffle over next to me, obviously unsure of what to do. I couldn't blame him, it was hard to comfort somebody when you didn't know what was wrong. So, he asked me._

_"What's wrong?" Shadow asked softly. I sniffled a tiny bit, and accepted the the hand that was there to help me up._

_"Sonic...he told me about the bet..." I whispered, as he ushered me out of the ally. I felt him take me by my arm to guide me home. I was happy that he knew that I didn't feel like looking at anything, even where I was going._

_"Rose..."_

_"It's okay, Shadow," I muttered. We had reached my house already. After all, I had not been too far from it in the beginning. I felt my guide let go of my arm, but stay next to me._

_"Rose I-"_

_"Please, Shadow. I want to be alone. Besides, you should already know a lot about that. You're an emo loner," I said bitterly. I regretted saying the last two sentences immediately. After all, I knew that emos weren't technically sad loners. They were just emotional. _

_As I stomped up the stairs to my house, I dared a glance back. Shadow was standing there, staring at me in shock. His eyes were wide, and his hand was paused in mid-air, obviously at the place where my shoulder was. I wasn't even aware that it had been there. I had never seen the Ultimate Life Form, and it hurt me more than anything to see him like that. I sighed as I closed the door, and walked into the living room of my house._

_That's when I saw Dad with a bullet through his chest._


	5. So Let's Work on the Present

**Chapter 5**

**Whoa, 7 reviews on the last chapter! You guys almost broke my record of 8. Hm...I wonder if we can make it to 50 before Chapter 10...that'd be cool!**

**I might not have replied to some of your reviews because I honestly didn't know how to. Sorry 'bout that! I mean, I knew I could PM you, but I didn't know what to say.**

* * *

"Ms. Rose!"

Amy was pulled out of her trance by none other than her grumpy boss. She met eyes with the fat purple cat, and immediately averted looking at the customer standing before her.

"Sorry about that," Amy mumbled, looking at the counter. She was met by a low chuckle. A very familiar low chuckle.

"Hello, Rose," the Mobian said calmly. Amy jolted up, and met eyes with the hedgehog. She gasped openly, and her eyes flew open. Before her was an ebony hedgehog, with red highlights running through his quills. He had a smirk upon his muzzle, and his ruby eyes were filled with amusement that Amy had not recognized him.

Amy struggled to regain her composure from the shock, and hastened to do so when she noticed that her boss was keeping a stern eye on her. She tucked a loose quill back into its place, and looked up at Shadow, trying to hide the surprise she was being bathed in.

"Is there something I could help you with?" Amy asked politely. Normally, this sentence would be taken in the wrong way, but her tone sent it out in the nice way. It was one of the many skills she had picked up in her social life and serving customers.

"I was just here to see an old friend..." Shadow said, shaking his head slightly.

"Well, there's no one here except for Big..." Amy sighed in disappointment.

"Just Big?"

"Yes."

"Then I'd better get going, thanks for the help," Shadow laughed, walking out. Amy gave him a bewildered stare. That was the happiest she had seen Shadow throughout all her life. He had laughed! Well, slightly. He had even smiled! Okay, he smirked, but it still counted as something. What baffled her more was that he had come here to see an old friend, when barely anybody came to the bakery.

With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, Amy directed her attention to washing all the dirty dishes in the sink. She was the only employee who was available during the two weeks that contained Christmas and the New Year, so she was forced to take the shift. Shoving on a pair of gloves, Amy set to the tedious task of scrubbing the dirty items.

As she did, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the memory that had been enveloping her mind just a couple minutes ago. She closed her eyes, fighting the urge to cry as she reminded herself of the foggy details. Calling the police. The hospital. Her aunt coming to pick her up. Her father's funeral. The will.

The will that changed her life, and possibly scarred it for the worst.

* * *

Amy peeled off her gloves, finger by finger, and disposed of them in the trash bin. Thankfully, her shift was now over. The bakery was closing. Big was a nice enough boss to shorten the closing and opening times for Amy, so she didn't exhaust herself. Of course, he insisted it was simply because he couldn't afford to pay a large amount of money for the bills, but Amy knew better. She smiled and waved good-bye to Big, and stepped out of the warmth of her job.

The rosy hedgehog set down the icy sidewalk, avoiding several kids running by to the candy shop. All of them held a handful of bottle caps, all containingg Coke Rewards codes on them. With a little laugh, Amy continued on her way. But it wasn't long before the horrible past slowly started creeping up on her...and tapping her on the shoulder. Literally.

"EEPS!" Amy yelped, spinning around. She was met with a warm gaze, and two green eyes. "Hold on a second-"

"Hey, Ames," A cobalt hedgehog said, with a cocky smile. They stood there for a moment, Amy processing what was happening, and Sonic waiting for Amy's brain to work.

"S-Sonic?" Amy stuttered after the long hedgehog nodded, before steering Amy down the side walk by her arm. She tried to pull away from his grasp, but knew all the while it was worthless.

"It's been a really long while since I've seen you," Sonic said, shaking his head. Amy couldn't help but stare into his eyes, entranced...causing her to nearly trip. She probably would've fallen flat on her face had Sonic not tightened his grip. She gave him a thankful nod, which he returned.

"Yeah, I've been busy..." Amy lied. It burned her throat to utter a false statement to her former (and possibly present) crush. But most of all, it hurt to lie to her _best friend. _It was true, she often chased Sonic as nothing more than a fangirl, but that didn't mean they didn't fight beside each other. It didn't mean that Sonic and Amy hadn't had each other's backs. It didn't mean that they never laughed over Silver stealing Knuckles' grapes. It meant that Amy wanted their friendship to develop into something more, which hadn't happened.

Yet.

"Mm hm..." Sonic said, obviously not believing her. Amy chose to remain silent and the mute accusation. She instead allowed Sonic to guide her into the warm confinement of the quaint restaurant "Old Bliss". It had been their favorite place to hang out alone, just the two of them. Away from the rowdiness of the gang, and yelling of the school. They were themselves there, Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose. Best friends for life...or at least until the big **BAM.**

Amy allowed herself to be guided into a table in the corner, and into a wooden seat. Sonic took a seat in front of her a few minutes later, two cups of hot chocolate in hand. He handed one to Amy, which she gratefully sipped. Sonic drank from his own, slyly watching Amy out of the corner of his eye. The marshmallows melted on Amy's tongue, and she savored the taste they created when mixed with the chocolaty goodness.

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle as a bit of cream piled on Amy's nose. The female frowned and swiped it off with a finger, and promptly licked it the cream from her pointer finger. Sonic laughed again, and Amy rolled her eyes at him-but for the first time in forever, in a friendly way. It felt it had been eternity since she had had a mute conversation with Sonic. They always...felt each other's emotions so well, there was no need to talk.

"So, what's up with you?" Sonic asked goodnaturedly.

"Well, I moved in with Blaze, got a job, and that's it," Amy explained hurriedly. She did not want to delve into details about the time in which she had _purposely_ been avoiding Sonic and Shadow. The first of the two mentioned seemed to get the hint, and subtly changed the topic.

"Let's see...well, I went to college for three years-"

"I thought you were already three years in three years ago," Amy interrupted.

"Yeah, I was."

Amy grew silent at the comment, detecting the bitterness in Sonic's tone. However, the accent disappeared as Sonic continued further on.

"I got a girlfriend, who I broke up with after a month, and then a year later, I met another girl, and we've been together for the past two years. I've just been working at Mum's cupcake shop since then," Sonic finished, taking a huge gulp of his of that, he did not see the foul look on Amy's face. Her face was contorted with anger, and a hint of bitterness. It echoed the same face she had worn when she found out that another girl was in love with Sonic many years ago. The causes for both the events were oddly similar.

_How dare he discuss his love life with me! He KNOWS I loved him! He knows! And here he is, parading around with this information! Doesn't he understand? Doesn't he understand the heartache one little word can do? What one embrace can do?_

It was then, perfectly on cue with Amy's thoughts, Heart and Soul softly rang through the little restaurant. It didn't help the pink Mobian much, and she immediately slapped her fore head with the palm of her hand. Sonic was too busy chugging hot choclate down to notice. Amy shot him a look of disgust, hot chocolate wasn't supposed to be chugged!

_No Amy, he can choose what he does and says, _Amy tried to reassure herself, _it's up to him, not you. Now go be a good girl and tell him you have to go..._

But she never got a chance to do as her mind asked. Not before the voice spoke behind her.

"Rose? Faker?"


	6. Even Though It's Weird

**Chapter 6**

* * *

_[Amy's POV]_

Brilliant. When I get to spend time with Sonic for the first time in 3 years, Shadow bumps in. Of course, it wasn't his fault, and I certainly don't blame him for strolling in to the little restaurant, but did he have to interrupt?I suppose it's for the better. He helped me avoid the awkward situation that was sure to erupt at the mention of Sonic's new _girlfriend._I know I'm acting incredibly jealous, and a bit egocentric, but it's me. I simply can't do anything about it. I suppose if Sonic's happy, I'm happy. And right now, that girl must be making him happy. Who ever she is.

"Hey, Faker!" Sonic said cheerfully, waving at the Ultimate Life Form.

"Mm," Shadow said, taking the last remaining seat at the table. I mentally groaned, if Sonic and Shadow got into an argument...Those two simply didn't get along. The reason evades me. I suppose it's their differing personalities, but I thought they would have gotten over that by now. I guess they did, for neither of them blew during our short meeting.

"What brings you here?" I asked politely.

"Commander wanted Sonic," Shadow said, absentmindedly staring out the window.

"Huh?" I ask in confusion. Sonic doesn't work at G.U.N. Then again, Shadow may have been referring to a different Commander. My confusion is soon cleared.

"I'm filling in for Omega," Sonic explained, getting up. So it is G.U.N.

"We just got here!" I exclaimed in annoyance as both the hedgehogs in front of me got up. They exchanged glances I couldn't read, but upon the day that I relate this story to you, I know they are speaking whole conversations through their looks. If I told you what the silent conversation was, then that would ruin my whole memory. So, we must continue to the point in which I interrupted myself.

I'm irritated, at the most. Ever single date Sonic was supposed to take me on ended up filled with excuses. At one point, he weaved a tale of the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. I am rather ashamed to admit that I ended up chasing him with my hammer during that particular scenario, so infuriated by his lie.

Going back to situation I was in, I was disgruntled. Sonic shot me an apologetic look, which I could read easily. I had seen it often upon his muzzle. Shadow gave me a curt nod, which I returned. 5 seconds later, there was a jingle of bells, and they were out the door. I stared at their retreating figures in shock. This all was so weird. First, Shadow suddenly popped up in a _bakery_ of all things after **three **years randomly, and _**laughed and chuckled.** _Then Sonic randomly bumps into me and takes me to a restaurant for no reason whatsoever. And then Shadow _somehow _knew what restaurant we were at, and got Sonic.

This was all very suspicious. But I still had a tiny slip of faith in the blue hedgehog, along with the darker one. I wanted to keep trusting them.

I slammed my head on the table, ignoring the bizarre looks directed towards me from the other consumers. After a incredibly long sigh, I lifted my head up. I propped my head up with my hand, and stared out the window. The same group of kids from earlier ran by, each with a lollipop in their hands. I smiled as I looked at them. Several of them were already sucking on the spherical candies, adsorbing the taste. They were so cute. I couldn't help but wave at them, and three of them waved back. I was well-known throughout Mobotropolis.

Due to unfortunate circumstances.

After a length amount of time (it was actually only five minutes, but I didn't know that), I reached into my coat pocket and fumbled through some old candy wrappers to find my cell phone. I pulled out the red item, and flipped it open. I keyed in Blaze's number, and put it up to my ear. There were a couple ringing noises before my friend's voice came ringing in.

"Hey, Blaze. Yes, I know, I'm sorry...yeah, I know you have to get ready for the date with Silver...I'm sorry...could you please pick me up? I'll meet you in front of the baker. Thanks so much."

I couldn't help but wince as I shoved my flip phone back in my wrapper-adorned pocket. Note to self: Don't call Blaze when she's getting ready for a date. It is quite possible you might end up on fire upon meeting her.

* * *

I darted inside Blaze's car the second it pulled up. The wind was starting to pick up, and soft white specks were blocking my vision, flying in rapid speeds. I sighed happily as the warm air inside made contact with me. I grinned at the lavender cat seated in the driver's seat, who immediately pushed down on the gas pedal.

"What took you so long?" My best friend inquired, eyes glued on the road for once. She was always kind of a reckless driver, but never when there were hazardous conditions.

"Sonic randomly bumped into me," I replied bluntly. There's no point in hiding the truth from my feline friend, she would detect a lie faster than Shadow. And that's saying something.

"Who did the what now?!" She suddenly shouted, slamming her foot on the breaks. I let out a shout, and gripped the sides of my seat.

"BLAZE!" I yelled.

"Tell me!" She exclaimed back, oblivious to the honking of the cars rushing to get home. Apparently she was more worried about my scenario more than avoiding a blizzard. Figures. After all, she is my best friend. She knows almost everything about me.

"I'll tell you when we get home, " I stated hurriedly. Blaze shrugged her shoulders with indifference, and continued on her way. The honks dimmed down, until they were obsolete. I hated that noise terribly, it was so annoying. Noises made by infuriated drivers, although some were just abiding the laws of the road. Unlike my cat friend.

"We're here, now tell me!" Blaze shouted eagerly, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. My head wobbled, and the world was in disproportion for quite some time, even after she finished shaking me. After I collected my bearings, I responded to her question.

"Well, at the bakery, Shadow came in. He said he came in to meet somebody, but I told him nobody was here. So he left. Wanna know the weirdest part? Shadow was _laughing. _Unless he had a sever personality change in the last three years (which is quite possible), then that was way out of character."

"Pause," Blaze commanded, holding out her hand, "You mean to tell me you saw Shadow, too?!"

"Yes, pay attention," I said impatiently, "When closing time came around, I started walking home. 'Cause ya know, we only live a block away. So, Sonic bumped into me. He was like 'Hey, Amy'! And then we went to the restaurant, he talked about his love life, Shadow came in and said they had to go to G.U.N. 'cause he's covering for Omega, and then I called you."

"That was a hurried explanation," Blaze declared, hopping out of the car. Now that we were out of the confinements of the Toyota, I could see that she was half-way through her make-up. She had some light mascara and eye shadow on. I never cared all that much for make-up. It was false beauty in my opinion, but only in large amounts. I was in love with lip gloss back then...I suppose it was a phase. That lasted for five years. Perhaps it wasn't a phase.

I shrugged my shoulders, after realizing I hadn't responded to Blaze's sentence. Too late, she was already heading back into the house. While I was busy observing her and thinking about how I didn't like over-done make-up, I had been absolutely oblivious to my surroundings-figures. Despite the biting cold, I didn't move. Something felt out-of-place. For some reason...I felt as though somebody was watching me.

It's an instinct that we're given. Often when we're scared, and wary of our surroundings. I sure wasn't scared, so I wasn't quite sure what the feeling was trying to imply. I peered around, but I could barely pick anything up in the increasing wind speeds. After thirty more seconds had passed, I decided I couldn't stand the decreasing temperatures and retreated to the apartment building in front of me.

Things just kept getting weirder and weirder.

* * *

_[Sonic's POV]_

I didn't like this arrangement, not a single bit. Sure, I was glad that I could finally see Amy again and that we could interact after so long, but to be faking it all? I despised that. Quite frankly, I wanted to sock Shadow in the face for proposing such and idea. I didn't like feeding lies to Amy, even if they were indirect and somewhat true. It's just that it isn't in my nature to deceive a friend. It's against my moral code. I suppose if it's in order to save Amy's life, then I can break my principles.

The snow crunched under my trade-mark shoes, each step causing my feet to sink further into the powder. Shadow had informed me I wasn't allowed to run, for I apparently sent a flurry of snow in my wake. I couldn't protest, knowing that I would probably end up in the emergency room. I could take Shadow any day, but I wasn't in the mood at the moment. My mind was on a certain rosy hedgehog.

"Pay attention, blue hedgehog," the alto voice sounded from in front. I absentmindedly waved my hand at him, indicating that I didn't really care what he had to say. It wasn't like we were actually on a mission. We were just faking it so that in case Amy had decided to spy on us, she would assume that we were truly on a mission. I wasn't quite sure where she was at the moment, I just know that she hadn't left her seat at our special spot when Shadow and I had departed.

I finally chose to glance up from staring at the tips of my shoes. Shadow and I had trekked into a woody area, with pine trees drooping with the snow on their branches. I had to smile, as I recalled the times when I had pushed them down, and flung them in Knuckles' direction. Ah, the fun those days had been. The joy of being young and carefree. No worry about consequence, just the present. No future.

After a good distance more, Shadow found that Amy had not been tailing us. I waved good-bye to Shadow, acknowledged that he did not return the action, and started to Snowing Sprinkles. Good job on creating the "perfect store name" mom.

Shadow and I had barely exchanged a word on our short walk through the snow-dusted field. It was one of the many solemn silences I had been forced to endure with my greatest rival. Friendly banter and conversations were not to expected from Shadow. Rouge had even told me that Shadow was a tough nut to crack when it came to talking. For some odd reason, he found me annoying, making it all the more harder to discuss _anything _with him. I just wished we could get closer, and become better friends.

I mean, even Knux and I were rivals, but we always chatted and laughed. He found me annoying, but he was still my friend. Shadow was almost the exact opposite. I don't understand why he didn't like me, as I found myself an incredibly likable person. Okay, okay, I'll admit. I put myself on a pedestal sometimes. A tiny pedestal! A super small one! The only reason for that was because I had trouble finding flaws in myself, not just in other people. Sure, I found a bajillion flaws in my old Chemistry teacher, but that's a different story. I mean the deeper flaws.

One of my biggest disadvantages.

* * *

**Argh! Here it is! I'm sorry it took so long. I was awful busy the past days. **

**Christian Ape99: He thinks Sonic is the fake between the two of them, to be honest, I don't know.**

**I'm having trouble with OOCness here...could somebody please review if I'm doing something wrong with that? I know Blaze was OOC with all the yelling and stuff, but I needed that. It was originally going to be Cream, but then I decided that Blaze would work a bit better. I can't imagine Cream not abiding laws. **

**Got a little Sonic POV in here, so I hope you guys like that. The next chapter will be either his or Shadow's! Not quite sure! I know it seems like I haven't tightened the plot yet, but don't ya'll worry, I have. ;) Trust the...middle schooler...you know what, forget what I just said. All of ya guys (Except possibly Twin-books) is older than me. XP**

**Long Author's Note! Argh! I just feel like "talking" to you guys. You're like my fanfiction family, y'know? Review what you thought about the chapter! Let's beat our record of eight! If ya want to...**

**-Meadow **


	7. Weird Dreams and Knocking Like Lunatics

**Chapter 7**

**Don't worry after you read the beginning, this is the seventh chapter of Collecting the Pieces.**

* * *

_[Sonic's POV]_

The wind whipped my face, lashing my features. I swatted the air, before realizing I was slapping nothingness. I gritted my teeth in anger, before speeding through the heavy forest. The forest floor was deprived of snow, and the sun shined as though it was summer. I had but one goal: to get to Amy. She was leaving, forever. If she did that, then...then...I wouldn't be able to tell her everything I should have.

I skidded to an abrupt stop in front of a jagged cliff, sharply intaking a breath as I looked a the liquid surrounding the rocky land form. Water. My greatest fear. All hedgehogs can swim, all hedgehogs except for me. Something about water terrified me. All the accidents, deaths, and dangers it held. Just to think about what could happen if somebody like me leaped in. Rip tides, drowning, sharks, stuff I don't even know about! I knew one swimming "technique": treading. It was a life skill, and I had been taught it at a rather young age so that I wouldn't drown...as often.

I looked at the water warily, knowing it was my only option to get Amy's attention. I looked at a small boat cutting through the water at furious speeds. I saw the sakura hedgehog that I had been searching so heavily for. I saw her turn around, probably wanting to take one last look at her home town. Instead, she locked eyes with me. The boat was several hundred feet away from the cliff, the perfect distance to commit the action I was about. I gulped in a deep breath, and shouted with all my might.

"AAAAAMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY!"

I saw her eyes widen, and her frantically scramble up. But it was too late, I ran backwards, and then sprinted forward with all my might, propelling myself off the cliff. My legs held extraordinary power, enabling me to run for long periods of time and jump further than most Mobians and Overlanders. Using that ability, I had dived into the water a couple hundred feet away from the cliff. I know it seems inmobian, but Sonic the Hedgehog can do anything.

As the cold water hit my face, the first thing to go in, I almost regretted my decision. Almost. My regret vanished the second I saw the coral figure slam into the water, landing quite near me. Despite the fact she couldn't see me, I smiled widely. Then I realized exactly what position I was in. Here I was, a hedgehog deprived of the ability to swim, afraid of water, and practically drowning.

It was instinct that caused the next events to happen. I pushed my arms and legs in sync, bending them and not. My arms moved in a motion as if pushing the water. I reached Amy easily, and grabbed her. She herself was an able swimmer, but I know that she wanted me to help her. I dragged both of us up to the air, hoping with all my heart that there was a small shore by the cliff. I had not taken the time to examine the surroundings in the case that I would have to help Amy.

I finally broke through the surface, and realized that I had let go of Amy. I looked frantically around, and was relieved to see a female hedgehog treading water a few feet away from me. I didn't even realize that I was subconsciously treading water myself. I looked around and realized that the water wasn't all that deep. Perhaps 40-50 feet deep. I had only gone 30 feet under in my jump, and was too busy finding Amy to care about anything else.

That's when realization hit me: I was in water. Almost immediately, my pupils widened, and my strokes became frantic and panicky. Out of the corner of my eye, Amy was mimicking me for some reason. I wasn't sure whether it was mockery or whether she had started panicking as well for what ever reason, but the only thought that hit me at that second was that we were going to drown.

I screamed Amy's name as her head became submerged under water mere seconds later. She had stopped treading. The reason was unbeknownst to me, but I couldn't care less. I dived back into the water, forcing my eyes open to search for her. I don't know how my eyes weren't burning, but then again, I never cared to learn about anything related to water except treading-which was a life skill.

I saw the piercing jade eyes floating downwards moments afterwards, and started to swim towards them. My big mistake. By the time I recognized the imaginary creature, it was too late. A merman-like creature leaped towards me.. His eyes were jade, his green hair a wild mess, and his skin tinted a light green. Ferocious creatures I had only heard of in fairy tales. I had never assumed that they would be real.

For once, knowledge did not run away from me. I knew very well from the stories that these merman creatures were fiery fighters, and killing a Mobian would be a mark of bravery in their homes. That's why I was swimming away. Bravery and honor meant everything to these creatures, and I didn't want my head planted on a wall.

My departure was too late, however, and I felt the slimy hands grab my ankle only seconds away from the surface of the water. By that time, I was losing breath, and my eyes were hurting because of the exposure. My hands grew weary, and my legs were rendered hopeless as another hand grabbed my left ankle. I used my last bit of energy in a futile attempt to look for Amy.

There she was, being captured by another creature of the same species. My love was already unconscious, and I presumed she was dead. This thought should have forced a great deal of energy upon me, but in that incident, it did not. It deprived me, if it did anything. I couldn't save her now. I couldn't not when my limbs were being held down.

I looked up into the bold green eyes of my captor and tried to recall what I had been taught. What was their weakness-

_**BAM BAM BAM**_

My eyes flashed open and I groaned as I rolled over on my side. Ah, Monday, how I hate you. Like always, I tried to recall what I had dreamed. Like always, I forgot. I assumed it was something about my friends, after all, that day was the reunion. If anybody showed up. Often, the team was too busy with life to do anything now. Knuckles was busy on some treasure expedition, Tails was helping guard the Master Emerald while he was gone, Rouge was doing G.U.N. stuff (and possibly stealing some jewels along the way), Cream was still stuck in high school, and Shadow was planning. Planning what? That's for me-the older Sonic-to know and for you little rascals to find out.

Speaking of which, the smasher of doors was still knocking. She eventually stopped, knowing that I wasn't about to wake up anytime soon. True, true. I grinned to myself, and finally pushed myself into a sitting position on my race car bed. I stretched out my limbs, and looked around my room. Everything was perfectly messy. Just the way I liked it. It was like a cozy little nest, that kept out a tiny wood pecker when I didn't want her near me. A very persistent wood pecker.

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSoooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccccc!" Sonia screamed, as she smashed her fists against my door. I rolled my eyes and slowly picked myself up. Time to get ready for the day.

And finish some work before the reunion.

* * *

**Sorry it's short! My Wi-Fi kept messing up, and I typed this hurriedly in between before it did so again.**

**-Meadow**


	8. History

**Chapter 8**

**IMPORTANT:**

**So, I've been thinking about starting a new fic. I'm not quite sure what fandom, though.****Do any of ya have a request? I'll try my best to make a request happen. :)**

**(Think of it as a gift for the fifty reviews)**

**This is a short chapter, so sorry! I was actually going to include in the last chapter. I figured it would be kind of confusing, since a lot of you didn't get the beginning was a dream and after the BAM BAM BAM was the day after Sonic bumped into Amy.**

**You might notice I changed the description and one genre. The plot is exactly the same, but I realized the summary wasn't all that good and "Family" didn't seem right. In fact, I even made a cover art for this! Like it? **

* * *

_[No POV]_

It was inside a mysterious room that the accident occurred. Enveloped in silence and darkness, a lone test table was the only thing in the room. Not a single being was inside that room, nor was a being in the facility, either. What was this place? A laboratory, that's what. This laboratory was working on seven very special items, items that could change the fate of the world. These items were the things that caused the terrible accident that happened many years ago. This accident's effects were starting to awake from their coma during the events of _Collecting the Pieces. _

To truly understand the past events being related towards you, we must know of this Mobius' history. This Mobius differs greatly from the one that we coin the "Prime Zone." This is the Midnight Realm. It is one of the alternate universes of Sonic the Hedgehog. The origins of the name are weaved into the complex tapestry of the realm's history. A very dark history.

Let us start at the very beginning. But first, let it be known that is but a theory that is still being worked on to the present day. The Midnight Realm started much like the Big Bang Theory. There was a small ball of energy, encompassing all the energy of the realm. The ball collected more and more energy as time worn on, and it soon could not hold it all. The matter was increasing, but the size was not, to put it simply. We call this ball the "Lone Star". After billions of years of collecting energy, the Lone Star finally burst. To clarify, the Lone Star was not actually a star, but it held the brightness of your sun times a million. We cannot even imagine that light, so we leave it be at the calculations.

After the Lone Star burst, the debris was floating around for around fifty million years. However, during that time period, the debris chunks were starting to connect. After another billion years, galaxies started to form, and soon the Midnight Realm was ready. One of these galaxies was called the Dark Hole. The reason behind this is that the Dark Hole's center was actually were the Lone Star was located. Once the Lone Star had separated, it still had energy. ninety-nine hundredths of the energy became a black hole, creating a spiral galaxy. The one hundredth left over went into a solid form, the Master Emerald.

The Master Emerald was the first object created that actually held it's form. It was strong when it was first made, but weakened slightly as the billion years went by. It finally was pulled in by the gravity of one of the newly-formed planets-Mobius. Mobius was located inside the solar system called Chaos. Along the time in which the Master Emerald had been traversing the Dark Hole, it's energy had been attracted to different planets. So, when the Master Emerald landed on Mobius, the planet was able to sustain the energy.

Let us take a moment to pause, for this is where the alternate Big Bang Theory ends. Re-read that if you must, for it is rather hard to understand. I tried putting it in as few words and as simply as possible so that it was easier to understand.

We must skip ahead millions of years. Skip over evolutionary processes and such. In fact, we must skip all the way to when the echidnas, the first Mobian species, started to show. The echidnas were to first to come across the Master Emerald, and after thorough examination, concluded that they had to protect the Master Emerald. They had come to the conclusion that the Master Emerald had most of the planet's energy, which was true. The Master Emerald had created a bond with Mobius.

The echidnas selected a special member from their very first tribe and called him "The Guardian." The Guardian's job was to protect the Master Emerald from harm. This task grew harder and harder as new species started to emerge and compete for resources. In order to stop the chaos ensuing, the echidnas sought their Gaurdian to help. By now, the Guardian had been put upon a pedestal and considered echidna royalty. The guardian back then told them of a secret-the guardians had the ability to harness the power of the Master Emerald.

Using that power, they tore an island from the water and brought it to skies. There, no other Mobians could reach them. The echidnas isolated themselves, and nearly disappeared from the memories from others. However, the time can in which a Guardian not guard the Emerald properly. The Emerald was lost.

The echidnas kept this a secret from others, knowing that a panic would spread across the whole of Mobius. Instead, using the energy from the Guardian and Angel Island, they created 7 objects. They called these the Chaos Emeralds. They told others that the Master Emerald was in hiding and that the Chaos Emeralds were part of it. The others believed them, and the echidnas spread the emeralds to seven different parts of Mobius, and constructed temples to keep them safe. These temples were called the Gaia temples, named after one of the great echidna gods.

The Emerald was lost until the very beginning of _Collecting the Pieces. _Also around that time, a new villain was surfacing, unbeknownst to any living creature on the planet. This villain was the one to recover the Master Emerald. He had not used the power yet, waiting for the perfect time to strike with a plot he had conjured.

His name was Mephiles.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

_[Shadow's POV]_

_Tick_

_Tock_

Today was not my day. Of course, no day truly was in my favor for this entire mission. Fooling the person who reminds me of Maria, luring her into a trap (even though it was for her safety), and keeping her in isolation. This didn't exactly make one whoop for joy. It often made a person upset and worried. Like me. These days were often covered in worry about what Maria would say to all of this.

_Tick_

_Tock_

It felt as though the clock perched on the meeting room wall was taunting me, the second hand going slower and slower until a minute felt like 300 seconds. The Commander continued to drone on and on about safety and rules. I understood that we couldn't have an accident like Mephiles again, but I honestly felt as though Rouge and I had already been equipped with this information. Omega had a flash drive, and that covered our entire team.

_Tick_

_Tock_

I couldn't take this nonsense anymore. I had to get on with the agonizing mission and get it over with. The sooner we found out where Mephiles was, the sooner we got Amy to safety, the sooner we found out why Mephiles was looking for her. The sooner that was done, the sooner we could destroy Mephiles and send him back to his Scepter. The sooner Mephiles was destroyed, the sooner Amy could be released. I needed things to be done quickly.

Curses...I sound like Faker when I say that.

"Shadow, you understand the precautions?"

I rolled my eyes before responding, making sure that the Commander could see the action. I heard him give a little huff before I spoke.

"Yes."

"Rouge?"

"I guess."

"I shouldn't need to ask about Omega," the Commander concluded, slamming a thick book shut. The meeting was finally over, and I couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief. I felt like this was going to drag on for eternity. Of course, I cared about our safety (or at least Rouge's and Omega's), but I'm the Ultimate Life Form. I can handle whatever danger was going to face us on this mission.

Unless Amy took out her hammer.

We filed out of the room, with myself in the lead. Unlike usual, no talk passed between the team. Rouge didn't talk about the emerald she found a week ago, Omega didn't ask if he could blow something up, and I didn't speak about how much I despised the meeting. It was an utter, and unnerving, silence. But I knew what was going through all our minds.

What would happen if we didn't save Amy in time?

She could die. She would die. Whatever power she had that Mephiles spoke of would be lost, and the world would be in peril. For all we know, something could happen to the Chaos Emeralds. We truly had no idea whatsoever. When Mephiles escaped from his isolation, he left an incredibly short message. Having to work our way from that was horrid, to put it at the lightest degree.

_Roses are red._

_Violets are blue._

_I'm not looking for the latter of the two._

_She knows you._

The second the Commander had finally allowed me to see the message, I had been stunned. I had immediately deciphered who this message was talking about, and that it was directed towards me. It wasn't that hard, considering I had known Amy for awhile. But that was five months ago, and back then, it had appeared that Amy was avoiding us. In truth, she had almost disappeared from my consciousness. Now she was hitting back full force.

The thing that baffled me the most was the simplicity of the poem. Of course, the Commander didn't know Amy that much (I think he had tried to forget her from three years back), so not understanding was expected. It hadn't taken me long to put two and two together once I read the message, though. Amy's last name was Rose, and she knew me for sure.

"Earth to Shadow! Helllloooooooooooooo?"

I blinked in surprise as a gloved hand was waved in front of my face impatiently. I looked at Rouge wearily, and she returned the glance.

"When do you want to get started?" she asked.

For once, I didn't know the answer to a question. Of course, I wanted to get started today, but something told me that we were missing something. Our mission was to locate Mephiles, simple enough. But there was also a second portion. If there was a chance that we came across him, we were to take him into custody. That may seem easy enough, but I've learned never to underestimate my opponents. I feel as though it's better to overestimate than under. It will make things safer for Rouge and Omega.

"Grumpy? You in there?"

i ignored the query Rouge made, well aware it was only for amusement. We had been walking down the passage way to where a G.U.N. helicopter was positioned outside, our departure area. We were supposed to collect there, but we could leave at any time we wanted. I suppose we had just automatically came down.

We were to go to the last place the Master Emerald had been seen, Angel Island. The Commander wasn't too happy that the echidnas kept the secret for so long, and neither was I. Didn't they understand the world was in jeopardy?

And of course, the day the echidnas finally spilled the beans, the experimental clone escaped from imprisonment. Security cameras were disabled, but all of them had caught a glance of some sort of mixture between a vapor and liquid before being shut down. There was one thing that we could conclude from that-Mephiles was using his shape shifting abilities. That made it all the harder to track him down. He could easily pretend to be an oil spill at a drill site.

That's when I realized what we needed. The Commander hadn't thought of it, and neither had I at first.

"I'll be right back, you and Omega make sure you guys have everything," I said abruptly. Rouge gave me a confused look, and opened her mouth to speak. I didn't allow her to, though, and started running down the opposite way.

_Shadow...you are making a grave mistake._

* * *

**Wasn't too motivated with this chapter, sorry. :( **

**Anyway, my friend aliixo has a story called All Out War. I was hoping you guys could check that out. Thanks to anybody who does.**

**By the way, I'm going to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone for a week starting the 13th of July. I won't be updating then.**

**Ta ta.**

**Meadow**


	10. Hurt Comes Before Strength

**Chapter 10**

**Alas, another bad chapter. :( I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you wait two weeks! Also, my grandma's coming in a couple days. In ten days, my cousin/sister (close as sisters)'s family is coming. I already told you all that good stuff the last chapter.**

**I also got my dad's old Sony Cybershot to take awesome photos! ;) Ah, this author's note is so cheery compared to the chapter ahead...**

_**IMPORTANT NOTE:**_

_**For clarification, this "flash back" is being continued from Amy's a while ago. Remember? Okay. Let's get going!**_

* * *

_Pure silence wrapped around my surroundings. I stared, eyes widening more with every passing second. There my father was, blood gushing out of his chest from two bullet holes. His emerald eyes were closed, and his arms and legs thrown in different directions, unnaturally. Red liquid was already spreading across the wooden floor, contrasting with his white fur. It took me less than half a minute to take in all of this. Then I did the only thing any girl right in the mind would do. I screamed._

_I ran over to my father's figure in the living room, and collapsed beside him. I knew that he was losing too much blood to even have a chance of living by the time I called an ambulance. The fact that I couldn't do t anything was overwhelming. I wasn't looking for the reason to why he got shot, not yet. That's when I remembered who I had left outside of my house._

_I sprinted out the door and flung it open, hitting Shadow in the face. Apparently he had heard my scream, and had come to see what happened._

_"Rose? I heard-" Shadow started, rubbing his cheek._

_"DAD GOT SHOT AND HE'S GONNA DIE!" I screamed. Shadow gave me a bewildered look, but I could see a slight amount of worry mixed in to the expression. I must have sounded like a maniac._

_"Where is he?" Shadow asked seriously. Apparently he couldn't look over my shoulder. I shakily pointed to the bloody Mobian, before moving out of the way so Shadow could reach him._

_The dark hedgehog bent down so that he could look at the bullet holes, or so I presumed. There was another moment of silence, which terrified me even more. With each second going by, my father was losing more and more blood._

_"SHADOW DO SOMETHING!" I screamed/sobbed. Tears poured out of my eyes uncontrollably, and it was surprising I wasn't bawling like a baby at the moment._

_"Hold on," Shadow muttered, reaching into his pocket. To my surprise, he pulled out a glowing red jewel. He looked at me and then my father again. Abruptly, he held out his hand for me to take, which I did obediently. He then assumed a firm grip on my father's unharmed shoulder, without worrying about the blood covering his hand. "CHAOS CONTROL!"_

_Next thing I knew, there was a bright flash of white light. I gripped onto Shadow's hand harder and closed my eyes tightly. I refused to open them until I felt solid ground underneath my boots, but even then I was reluctant. The site in front of me was none other than the Community hospital. I opened my mouth to ask how we had gotten here, but promptly closed it. There was a more important matter to attend to._

_I turned to my left, where Shadow had let go of my hand (or forced it out of my grip), to attend to my father. He gave me a glance, which spoke a thousand words. Well, perhaps not a thousand, but Shadow has a way with expression. You can just tell what he's going to say with one of his looks._

_I heaved my father's left arm on to my shoulder, and helped Shadow drag him through the emergency room doors. There was an attendant at the desk. The female dog looked up for a split second, looked at her screen, and then did a double take. It was no surprise that her mouth fell open._

_Alright, perhaps I was exaggerate a **tad **about the amount of blood that my father had lost. It's truly not my fault._

_The next hour went by in a haze. I cannot remember specific details, as I did with the previous events. All I recall is my father being taken to the Care Unit or whatever those special rooms are called, being asked for any other family members that were at least 18 years old, and Shadow never leaving my side. I stayed there for at least two hours, and Shadow left once, to make a phone call. I didn't know who it was to. _

_Until he arrived._

_The last person I wanted to see at that moment literally sprinted through the hall way, looking around for me everywhere. I did my best to hide me face from his view, but it was no use. The cobalt hedgehog spotted me in no time and approached me gingerly. I covered my face with my hands again, not wanting to face him. I could tell he was nervous. I felt Shadow pat me on the shoulder before leaving. _

_"Ames?" he whispered tentatively._

_"Please, Sonic. Tell me why you're here."_

_"Shadow called, and I got worried about you," he muttered. I kept my head bent and eyes closed after removing my hand._

_"Sonic, I beg of you. Leave. I do not wish to see you at the moment," I replied through gritted teeth. With all the drama going on, did I really need somebody who had just shred my heart to pieces come here?_

_"I-I'm sorry."_

_My head shot up, and my eyes widened. I couldn't remember the last time Sonic apologized. Usually, he would fix whatever mistake he did or problem he caused, but he rarely apologized directly. The team always joked that his ego was bigger than Mount Mobiust. The next words out of my mouth were unplanned, and they shocked even me. _

_"You can go."_

_"W-what?"_

_"Leave."_

_"But Ames-"_

_"LEAVE."_

_Sonic stared at me stunned. Hey, I was surprised myself. For a moment, I completely forgot about the dilemma facing me. For a moment. _

_"I'm sorry," Sonic said one last time, before getting up. He cast one sad glance over his shoulder, before walking dejectedly down the hall way. _

_"Miss? Miss Rose?"_

_I looked up at the voice of the nurse approaching me with a clip board. Her face was nervous, and full of pity. I was certain that my heart stopped beating for a second. Could my father have-?_

_"You're father is...no longer with us."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Okay, first of all, let me apologize for the huge gap. I'm...having some problems from the past that are bothering me. Don't worry, it's nothing big, and nobody else is involved. :) On a happier note, my birthday's coming up in two days!**

**I also started another story, so it would mean so much if any of you guys check it out. It's called This Is The Way It Is. :D**

* * *

_"Your father is...no longer with us."_

_The words collided with Amy harder than a force of a speeding car. Her reaction took time to develop, but any spectator could tell that Amy couldn't take the pain that was surging through her veins. Shock was pulsing through her body, mixing in with the sadness flowing through. Slowly, tears started to flow down her face, soon turning into a down pour coming out of her jade eyes._

_Amy wiped away a few of tears, enabling her to take a better look at the nurse. That's when she realized...the nurse looked an awful like a purple cat. It also seemed like Blaze was trying to say something. Amy slightly jumped when Blaze stomped over and started shaking her by the shoulders._

_"I SAID WAKE UP!"_

With a jolt, Amy was awakened from the wretched memory. She blinked rapidly, before her vision focused on the lilac female standing by her bed with her arms crossed. Blaze looked seriously annoyed, so Amy assumed Blaze had been trying to waking her up.

"Finally! That was harder than trying to get Silver to answer his cell phone!" Blaze said, referring to her boyfriend. Amy rolled her eyes as she forced herself up, trying her best not to hint that she had had a nightmare of sorts.

"Sorry," Amy said, swinging out of her bed. That's when she noticed that it was 6 o'clock. "Why did you wake me up? It's only 6!"

"Hello?" Blaze said, tapping Amy's head with her fist, "You promised you would come to the reunion, after three years! I already told everybody!"

It took a few seconds for Amy to remember the promise she had made to Blaze and Cream a week ago. Well, it was actually the result of losing a bet for who would win the World Cup, but details didn't matter.

"Oh...I must have forgotten," Amy said, shaking her head to clear her mind. Blaze rolled her eyes and exited the room, leaving Amy to get ready. The reunion was taking place an hour away from their flat, since Cream, Tails, Silver were still in school. Cream and Tails were still in high school, whilst Silver was in his last year of college. The high school was on the other side of of Mobotropolis, while the college was 30 miles away from that location.

Amy sighed as she ran her hand through her short quills. She still liked them short, but not quite as short as when she was kid. She kept them an inch longer, which she felt wasn't that much of a difference, but it still let her experiment more with hair styles.

With a sigh, Amy fumbled through the objects placed messily on her night stand, to find her cell phone. She scrolled through her Spotify playlist and settled on starting with a Katy Perry song.

She set the phone back on the night stand, feeling much more awake. She grabbed a towel, and went in to the bathroom to take a shower. Of course, she couldn't hear the music, but that didn't matter all that much to her.

After drying out her quills, she settled down to pick an outfit, settling on a simple red tank top, jeggings, and a pair of ankle boots. For hair, she simply pushed on her trade mark red head band.

"AMY WOULD YOU HURRY UP?!"

The hedgehog in question rolled her eyes as she grabbed her cell phone, turning off the music.

"I'm coming!"

"You'd better! There's someone here to see you!"

* * *

_(?'s POV)_

Maybe I shouldn't have come here. It was probably a bad idea, after yesterday. For all I knew, she was angry. Then again, this was Amy. What was there to be angry about? Okay, maybe my "love life", but that wasn't exactly...the truth.

"You'd better! There's someone here to see you!"

I watched as a sakura hedgehog entered the room, staring at her cell phone. She nearly crashed into a chair, but avoided it at the last second. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Why did people need to stare at their cell phones so often these days?

She finally bumped into Blaze, who rolled her eyes at me, and looked up. I wasn't too surprised to see her eyes widen and jaw drop.

"Sonic?!"

"The one and only," I said, striking a pose. Amy giggled slightly, and Blaze sighed.

"W-what are you doing here?" she stuttered.

"I came to take two fine ladies to the reunion, of course."

"But how did you know I was staying here?"

Oops. I had completely forgotten that part. How to address the query? Luckily, there was no need to answer, Blaze answered in my stead.

"I told him, now let's get going," Blaze said, grabbing Amy and practically dragging her out of the flat. I laughed and followed after my friends, who were headed towards my Lexus.

Blaze all but shoved Amy into the shot gun, taking the back seat. I slid into the driver's seat, pressing a button to turn on the car.

"Let's get going!"

* * *

**Welp, talk about bad chapter. I'm sorry. Oh! I forgot, I'm also co-writing a story with Twin-books. It's called Room 13. :P**

**Anyways, thank you for all the wonderful reviews! :) They make me smile.**

**-Meadow**


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